![](https://nextpakistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/27201022cedf9da.webp)
- April 27, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
On Saturday, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the Supreme Court stated that creating a firewall around the legal system was “extremely important” and that there could not be any outside influence in the judiciary. The Islamabad High Court’s six judges have claimed that the nation’s intelligence services have interfered in court proceedings. The judge’s comments are related to this controversy. Six of the eight IHC justices, who made up the majority, shocked the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on March 25 by writing a letter about attempts to intimidate judges by kidnapping and torturing their relatives and by secretly spying on them in their homes.
Judges Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir, Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, and Saman Rafat Imtiaz all signed the letter. A full court conference of the Supreme Court’s (SC) judges was called by CJP Isa the day after calls for an investigation into the matter had surfaced from several sources. The cabinet approved the formation of a commission to look into allegations of meddling in judicial affairs, as agreed upon by CJP Isa and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during their meeting on March 28. Nonetheless, after being nominated to lead the commission, former CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani withdrew his involvement, which prompted the Supreme Court to take a suo motu notice of the situation.
In an apparent reference to the formation of a full court to examine a suo motu case concerning claims of meddling in judicial matters, CJP Isa declared on April 3 that “any attack” on the judiciary’s independence would not be allowed. Speaking at the 5th Asma Jahangir Conference, which had as its theme “People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil Rights in South Asia,” Justice Shah declared, “Firewalling is very important.” No outside party is allowed to meddle in our matters. The judiciary takes any attempt to meddle seriously and will unify in opposition to it.
The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) are collaborating to organize the two-day conference, which was announced by the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell (AGHS). The judge stated that a firewall against interference was being investigated by the bench of the Supreme Court, which was hearing the suo motu case on the IHC letter.
Judge Shah stated that it was preferable for everyone if the legal system operated freely and that all institutions must come to the realization that “if there is no justice then they cannot exist.” “If you weaken the legal system, you are eroding every institution,” he declared. “For all the other institutions to develop, grow, and prosper, the justice system must be strong, robust, and independent,” he continued.